(11/15/13) - CUNA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Desjardins Awards for Youth and Adult Financial Education. Entries from 27 states yielded 9 first place winners, along with several second place and honorable mention winners, in both the adult and youth education categories.

"Nine first-place winners are a testament to the commitment of credit unions in providing their members, and their prospective members, a solid understanding of the challenges and rewards of fully understanding their financial positions. My congratulations to the winners, my thanks to all the entrants, and my admiration for a credit union movement that makes financial education among its top priorities," says Bill Cheney, CUNA President and CEO.

The Desjardins Awards are named for Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the North American credit union movement. Besides founding the first credit unions in Canada and the U.S., Desjardins pioneered youth savings clubs and in-school "banks," known as caisses scolaires. He established caisse populaires, cooperative savings and loan companies, to encourage the working classes to save and plan for the future and provided the credit they needed for economic recovery. This award honors credit unions, chapters and leagues for their commitment to both youth and adult financial literacy.

"Congratulations to this year's winners and honorees for their inspiring work in developing financial education skills in members of their communities," said Vikki Kinsler, CUNA's program coordinator for the Desjardins Awards. "These credit union organizations are leading the way to improving the nation's well-being by teaching the younger generation, as well as adults, how to achieve financial security by managing money and credit wisely."

Recipients were chosen from among the state-winning entries by CUNA's national awards committee.

The Maine Credit Union League was also awarded a first place award for their efforts to improve financial literacy for both youth and adults. A new initiative for this repeat winner is outreach to home-schooled students, an audience that traditionally has been missed in financial literacy efforts.

Winning entries will be on display at CUNA's 2014 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), February 23 - February 27, in Washington, DC. The award winners will be honored during a February 26 reception.